Feeding Raw - my experience

I've had a lot of people asking recently about how I feed my dogs.  I figured it would be easiest to answer here, and just put it out there for the world to see.  I FEED MY DOGS RAW!  There, I said it.  The secret is out.  My cats also get fed raw. 

Prey Model Raw, to be exact.

What does this mean?  Well, it means that when I, a vegetarian, go to the grocery store, I end up spending a majority of time in the meat section.  Yay...

It also means that I have to mop  my floors every day.  And I have to space my dogs and cats apart to try to keep them from stealing each others' food.  Not to mention, I get to spend time inspecting poop to  make sure that there's nothing off and they're getting the proper ratio of nutrients.

On the other hand, I know exactly what is in their food.  My pets all have sparkling white teeth.  My chocolate lab is actually chocolate colored, as opposed to the sandy color she was before we changed her diet.  Also, poops are much smaller (like, 1/3 of the size) and dry out very quickly. 

But, Marty, you may be asking, isn't that ridiculously expensive?  
 I never realized before the switch, just how expensive meat is... I don't eat it, I tried to avoid that section of the grocery at all costs.  It helps that my bf hunts, and there always seem to be people cleaning out their freezers that don't know what to do with all that meat that's been in there for the last decade or so.  (Believe me, the dogs don't care if it's a touch freezer burnt.) 

But Marty, you say, what are the proper nutrients?  
  Well, I try to get in a ratio of 80/10/10 - which means 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% organs.  This doesn't have to be the ratio every day.  Some people make sure they get it worked out throughout the week.  However, I have found that my dogs tend to do better when they have a little bone every day.  Bones are not bad! Well, okay, cooked bones are bad.  But raw bones are actually necessary to balance the phosphorus in the meat - calcium. 

That sounds too difficult.
Yeah, my bf thinks so too.  But he's not the one who feeds them, so he doesn't have to worry about it.  Actually, once you get it down, it's not as difficult as it sounds.  It's not an exact science (hence the having to inspect the poop part). 

I stand by it.  I also accredit it with nearly knocking ringworm out of our house with no medication in less than 2 months (I am the only one who still has it... :/  but anyone who's dealt with it knows that it can hang around for months at a time.  That little fungus is a bugger to get rid of!).  Also, since switching, my ~7 year old lab mix who was always standoffish and suffers with joint issues from lyme disease has been boisterous and playful -- even wanting to play with his sisters!  Booyah!

Do it!

So many truths here :)

Happy New Year... and an Aargh!

First off Happy New Year to all of you!  I hope that 2012 treated you well and 2013 will be even better!  I look forward to seeing you all as life begins to stabilize and we get back into our normal grooves again. 

On another note, in the battle between the washer and the cell phone, the score ended up washing machine 1, cell phone dead :(   I will be getting a new phone in a few days, but until then the best way to reach me will be by email.  I will still be checking my phone messages and returning calls as soon as I can, but it will not be as often as I will be able to check email.  I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.